SURPRISED BY GOD

At the Assembly/Chapter 2002, Scarboro priest and lay missioners decide to develop a new and greater partnership for mission

By Fr. Michael Traher, S.F.M.
March 2003

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"Surprised by God" describes well Scarboro Missions' 28-year history of priests and laity working together in mission. Last summer, during our Assembly and Chapter 2002, we experienced yet another surprise. We found ourselves working together with a new and greater harmony than ever before. This experience of unity felt like the breath of the Spirit signaling the beginning of something new, a new vision. We found ourselves talking about creating a new partnership for mission. The idea excited everyone. We could barely grasp the implications of what it might mean.

Looking back on our recent history, we can recall now with some pride our response to Vatican II's declaration that, "the laity have a proper and indispensable role in the mission of the Church." Inspired by this new openness of the Church, our 1974 Chapter made the decision to accept single lay men and women to work with Scarboro priests in mission. We later expanded this to include married people.

Our decision to invite the laity to join us did not come easily. But, after much study, discussion, and discernment, it felt so right. At subsequent Chapters we have continually reaffirmed and strengthened that basic direction set out in 1974.

In the beginning, the process of involving the laity was the responsibility of Scarboro priests assigned to the education and training of missioners. Soon, Scarboro Missions invited religious Sisters, women with experience in the formation of their own communities, to be part of our education and training team, allowing us to meet both the female and male dimensions of our lay program.

Not until the 1987 Chapter, however, did Scarboro Missions set up a separate department for the laity. What followed was a time of growing and learning, a process of acceptance and trust, which led to the establishment of the Lay Mission Office in 1993.

For the first time, a lay team headed this new office, with semi-autonomy to govern the affairs of the laity, from the preparation of candidates to coordinating Scarboro laity in mission. The ideal always remained, to work as closely as possible with Scarboro priests. Now, after 28 years of experience in living and working together in mission, Scarboro priests and laity are resolved to continue to journey together. We feel quite strongly a new sense of confidence to further develop our partnership for mission.

At the Assembly and Chapter 2002, in a joyful atmosphere of working and dreaming for the future, we made a significant decision to move toward even greater collaboration, to improve even more the present good relationship between lay and priest members. The process ahead will require greater communication and transparency at all levels of the Society.

The Chapter challenged both the Lay Mission Office and the General Council to work more closely together. Both leadership teams are to collaborate in new ways, especially in matters where we are mutually committed. They include:

• Exploring together new placements in mission for the future;
• Developing new ways for lay and ordained to work in association with one another;
• Sharing equally, as partners, the responsibilities of leadership for Society endeavours in mission;
• Addressing the issues of security for long term/life time lay missioners;
• Assuring our aging priest missionaries of a future that includes them.

We dream of developing a new model wherein lay and ordained will serve the reign of God with the greatest possible expression of equally shared responsibilities. Many challenges to this new partnership model will have to be worked out over time and with experience. We are just beginning, for example, to appreciate that our Scarboro laity will some day become the active majority among us in the Society. What will this new reality ask of all of us for issues of constitutions and governance? Any new structure will need to incorporate the essential qualities of our present priest and lay structures.

Our goal is to develop a draft of this new partnership model to be presented to all members by 2004. We ask your prayers, as our supporters and partners in mission, that we will understand and follow where the Spirit is leading us. We seek to live and grow in the same Spirit that enabled the disciples of Jesus to walk together witnessing to the redeeming love of God for all peoples. We want to continue to witness to the reign of God in our world, as priests and laity together.

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